The UOC-KP Suspects the Meeting of Patriarch Kirill with President Yanukovych Did Not Produce Expected Result
On July 30, 2010, in UNIAN news agency, a press conference was held with Bishop Yevstratii (Zoria) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) dedicated to the results of the celebration of the anniversary of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus and the visit to Ukraine of the Moscow Patriarch. The bishop raised a few topics, including the obstacles encountered by the faithful of the UOC-KP who tried to go to Kyiv to celebrate the Day of Baptism of Kyivan Rus. One of the main topics of the conference was the question of the tête-à-tête meeting of Patriarch Kirill with Viktor Yanukovych, which took place without the participation of Metropolitan Volodymyr. The UOC-KP has its own version of this meeting.
“We saw certain events with the participation of Patriarch Kirill that puzzle us. For example, when Patriarch Kirill met with the President of Ukraine – why did he not bring Metropolitan Volodymyr to the meeting? From the point of view of diplomatic etiquette he should have also been there because Metropolitan Volodymyr heads the structure of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, he is most important member of the Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate. What secret things did the Patriarch want to discuss with the president that he could not bring along Metropolitan Volodymyr – we don’t know. But as far as we understand, it was Patriarch Kirill who insisted that the meeting take place in such a format. It was the patriarch who asked to speak one on one.
“Why? It seems there can only be one answer: there was a discussion that the metropolitan was not to hear: maybe about his dismissal, or about his successor, or about limiting the rights of the UOC-MP in the independence and sovereignty that it has. But, judging from the fact that after the meeting Patriarch Kirill was not satisfied, because in Dnipropetrovsk it was evident that he was not pleased, it seems to us that our president did not accept the propositions that were made by the patriarch.
“And Metropolitan Volodymyr, unlike last year when he accompanied Patriarch Krill everywhere, was absent. I don’t know if the media noticed this, but we took note of it. I think this was a corresponding demarche because Patriarch Kirill went to meet it president by himself. And because of that on the last day of his visit the patriarch began to praise the metropolitan: we greatly respect Metropolitan Volodymyr, we don’t infringe on the autonomy of the Ukrainian Church. Why say such things if there are not doubts? It means that doubts emerged,” Bishop Yevstratii said at the press conference.
